Meet Gabe Johnson, more commonly known by his classmates as Chunk. He is an overweight trombone player in the marching band, a member of a dysfunctional household, a donut shop employee, a rebel and a criminal. He is also the hero of a wonderful new book titled Fat Boy vs. the Cheerleaders by Geoff Herbach. What begins with a study for health class, cataloging the use of the school soda machine, escalates into what becomes known as the Spunk River War. In a completely covert money grab, the proceeds from the machine originally used to fund the marching band are directed toward the creation of a new dance squad. The band finds out on the last day of school that there will be no summer band camp. With the help of social media, Chunk rallies the geeks to protest this injustice. The jocks become involved and stand up for their girlfriends, the burners join the geeks. The stage is set for an epic clash which is planned to take place during the town’s premier summer tourist event.

Though rife with group classifications and sweeping generalizations, this story is about so much more than the geeks challenging the popular crowd. It is about self-perception, personal pride and seeing beyond stereotypes. Gabe grows to become more than what people expect of him and is an inspirational character as a result.

This entertaining novel is told in the unique manner of a one-sided conversation. After Gabe is arrested for robbing the soda machine, he meets with his lawyer at the police station, and the novel is a transcript of this encounter. It’s a clever device which asks the reader to fill in the question as our protagonist provides the answer. Fat Boy vs. the Cheerleaders is an endearing coming of age novel. The value of friendship and the importance of self-worth combine to make this teen novel a real winner.